**8. Conclusions**

Goat industry in Nepal is becoming popular among the commercial farmers, and it is assumed that the future prospects of the species are quite promising. Goats, as an animal with multiple utilities, have high adaptability in diversified climatic condition right from extreme hot to extreme cold. However, goats in Nepal have limitations in

**75**

*Breeds and Breeding System of Indigenous and Crossbred Goats in Nepal*

terms of body weight gain and market weight. There is opportunity for improving productivity of existing goats without increasing the total population based on the application of animal breeding technology along with advances in husbandry and disease control measures that have demonstrated success, worldwide. The need to reorient development activities by adding value to indigenous breeds must be focused. Crossbreeding of native goat breeds such as Chyangra and Sinhal in the mountain region is not gainful so far. Selection and mating of the best male to the best doe is only the option to improve the genetic potentiality of these breeds in the region. The importation of exotic breeds for crossbreeding particularly in the hill and midhill regions may not be meaningful unless provision for feed with increased nutrient requirements and disease control measures are readily available to the herders.

• Genetic gain depends upon the selection difference, response to selection,

• Selection can be one of the tools, but only selection cannot improve all the

• Attention should be given in the selection process for the appropriate traits, pedigree recording, feeding, health care, and management for the goat produc-

• Crossbreeding of Nepalese hill goat with Boer goat is giving a better result with respect to growth and reproductive performance initially. However, further

Authors would like to acknowledge the scientists, researchers, and academicians who contributed a lot in the area of goat research and development in Nepal. We express our sincere gratitude to the staffs and faculty members of Animal Breeding Division, NARC, Khumaltar, Nepal, and Department of Animal Breeding and Biotechnology, Agriculture and Forestry University, Rampur, Chitwan, Nepal, for their cooperation while preparing this manuscript. In addition, we would like to thank the International Goat Association for providing the opportunity to be a part

• Heritability of the reproductive traits is lower (<0.15), production traits such as milk production are medium (0.15–0.30), and growth-related traits are higher

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.82821*

heritability, and generation interval.

(>0.3).

**Acknowledgements**

**Conflict of interest**

economic traits of goat.

tivity enhancement in Nepal.

of this historic scientific publication.

Authors do not have any conflict of interest.

evaluation is needed for valid conclusion.

*Breeds and Breeding System of Indigenous and Crossbred Goats in Nepal DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.82821*

terms of body weight gain and market weight. There is opportunity for improving productivity of existing goats without increasing the total population based on the application of animal breeding technology along with advances in husbandry and disease control measures that have demonstrated success, worldwide. The need to reorient development activities by adding value to indigenous breeds must be focused. Crossbreeding of native goat breeds such as Chyangra and Sinhal in the mountain region is not gainful so far. Selection and mating of the best male to the best doe is only the option to improve the genetic potentiality of these breeds in the region. The importation of exotic breeds for crossbreeding particularly in the hill and midhill regions may not be meaningful unless provision for feed with increased nutrient requirements and disease control measures are readily available to the herders.

